“Money talks, and with enough money I can buy a plane and my own pilot. Now, if you don’t bring me Sadie, then I’m going to shoot your girlfriend.”
Evan’s stomach tied itself in knots. In all the hostage negotiations he’d ever been through, his emotions had never been so out of control as at this moment. “She’s not my girlfriend. She doesn’t mean anything to me. If you kill her, then I’m going to kill you. She’ll be dead but so will you. Now, let her go and put your gun down,” Evan demanded.
As he was talking, he was seeking any kind of weakness he could exploit to either talk the man down or take him down physically.
At the moment he saw absolutely no weakness, and that scared the hell out of him.
* * *
ANNALISE’S HEART BEAT frantically and so fast it felt like it might explode right out of her chest. She’d never been so frightened in her entire life.
She’d awakened and had been unable to go back to sleep. She’d gotten up to get a drink of water, and Jacob had come up behind her in the kitchen.
The cold barrel of his gun now dug into the side of her head, and she was terrified with each moment that passed that Jacob would pull the trigger. At this point he certainly had nothing to lose.
She understood that while Evan would not want her to be killed, his ultimate goal had to be to stop Jacob here and now. If he did his job, he would never give into Jacob’s demands and she might be another...she might be the last tragic victim to Jacob’s madness.
The burly man smelled of rancid sweat and complete evil, and all she wanted was to get away from him. But with the gun to her head there wasn’t much she could do except weep silent, helpless tears.
“Jacob, put the gun down and let her go,” Evan said calmly.
“Get me that kid,” Jacob bellowed, and tightened his arm around Annalise.
“That’s not happening,” Evan replied. “You need to end this now, Jacob. You need to put your gun down and face the consequences of your actions.”
This was a standoff that had her life in the balance. She knew Evan wasn’t going to yield and put his gun down, and Jacob seemed determined not to give himself up.
She’d never felt as helpless as she did right now. Jacob was too strong to fight against, and the longer this went on the more she was certain he was going to shoot her.
Mentally she prepared herself to die. She said a silent goodbye to her parents and hoped they would be okay without her. And she said goodbye to Evan, sorry for the three years that had been wasted when they hadn’t been together.
Suddenly she knew there was really only one thing she could do. It was definitely a risk. It might not work, but she had to do something to try to save herself. She gazed at Evan, the man she would always love, the last man she might ever see, and then she opened her mouth and screamed.
She screamed as loud as she could, knowing it was one of the things Jacob hated. “Stop that,” the big man yelled. For a brief moment, the gun slipped from her head and his hold on her loosened. She immediately fell to her knees, and as she squeezed her eyes tightly closed, two shots nearly deafened her.
Oh God, who had been shot? When she stopped screaming, she heard Jacob cursing from someplace behind her. Then strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up to her feet.
She opened her eyes and saw Evan’s beautiful face. “Come on, let’s get you away from him.”
He pointed her toward the sofa and while she sank down, he approached Jacob, who was lying on the floor. Blood gushed from a wound in his chest, and he held both hands over it.
Evan stepped over Jacob and grabbed the gun that the man had apparently dropped when he’d been shot and had fallen backward. Evan then got on his phone and called Chief Cummings. “I need an ambulance at Annalise’s house. I just shot Jacob.”
“On it,” the chief said.
Evan hung up and then called Nick. “I need the three of you to get to Annalise’s house. I want you to escort Jacob to the hospital and stay with him until he’s well enough to be put in federal lockdown. I do not want him going back into local custody.”
As Evan made his arrangements, Annalise shivered on the sofa. She was utterly traumatized by what had just happened. From the moment Jacob had grabbed her in the kitchen until this time she’d been so afraid that she’d get shot or that Evan would be killed.
Now a sickness bordering nausea twisted in her stomach and she’d never been so cold in her life. She continued to shiver as the emergency vehicles arrived along with Chief Cummings and Evan’s teammates.
It wasn’t until the ambulance finally left and everyone else was gone that Evan walked over to her and pulled her up and into his arms.
He didn’t say a word, he just held her tight. She clung to him as emotion began to choke her. “I... I just wanted a drink of water,” she said through her tears. “I came into the k-kitchen and suddenly he was right on me. I... I really thought he was going to kill me...kill us.”
Evan tightened his arms around her. “I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”
She raised her head and looked at him in surprise. “Really? But you seemed so calm and in control.”
“Oh, baby, I was so afraid that I was going to mess up, and I’d have never forgiven myself if anything would have happened to you.” He tightened his arms around her. “It’s over now. He’ll never hurt you again. He’s never going to hurt anyone ever again.”
“Thank God,” she whispered. She continued to weep for several more minutes, and then finally she released her death grip around his neck and stepped back from him. “I’m sorry,” she said as she swiped at her tears. “I’ve just never been so frightened in my entire life.”
“You were amazing under pressure.” His gaze warmed her. “By screaming and then dropping to your knees, you gave me the shot I needed. Thank God his shot went wild.” He pointed to a hole in the far wall.
“When we were in the school, he told us over and over again that he hated whining and screaming,” she replied. “It was the only thing I could think of to do.”
“It was absolutely brilliant,” he replied. He led her back to the sofa where they both sat. “Chief Cummings is coming back to get our official report. Just tell him exactly what happened.”
She nodded and drew several steadying breaths. “Do you think he would have killed me?”
He hesitated a long moment. “Yeah,” he finally said. “I think eventually he might have, but I was looking for a shot before that happened. Thank God your scream surprised him and shook him up.”
It was the longest night of her life. Chief Cummings finally returned to take their statements, and he brought with him a loaf of pumpkin spice bread his wife had baked.
Jacob had come through the patio door, and Annalise was horrified to realize when she’d stepped out on the deck earlier she didn’t remember locking the door behind her. She’d given a killer easy access to her.
Finally it was all over. The terror, the official statements...everything. “Let’s see if now we can get some much-needed sleep,” Evan said.
Together they walked down the hallway. “Evan—” she turned to him when they reached the doorway to the guest room “—I promise I won’t expect anything from you...but could you sleep with me? Could you just hold me in your arms?”
“I can do that,” he said softly.
Once they reached her room, Evan kicked off his shoes and socks, took off his slacks and shirt and then crawled into bed with her and pulled her into an embrace.
It was the first time she’d felt completely safe since the school had been taken over by gunmen. “Just think, we can get up in the morning and have pumpkin spice bread with our coffee,” he murmured drowsily in her ear.
“Why does he keep giving you baked goods?”
“He told me his wife loves to bake. He mentioned she’d grown up
in foster care and that she loved to bake to take her mind off the terrible existence she had there.”
“It’s funny, his wife went through foster care and married a policeman and Gretchen went through foster care and became a criminal,” she said sleepily.
And then she knew no more.
Chapter Thirteen
Evan awoke first. He was spooned around Annalise, and she was still sleeping soundly. For a moment he remained unmoving and simply reveled in the feel of her warm body.
He finally slid from the bed, grateful he hadn’t awakened her. After grabbing his clothes off the floor, he went into the guest room to grab clean ones, then took a quick hot shower in the guest bathroom.
Once Evan was dressed, he went into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. He’d slept soundly, but had awakened with a lot of things on his mind, like who the inside man or woman might be.
Once he had a cup of coffee before him at the dining room table, he called Hendrick. He told him his thoughts, then asked the tech agent to do several things.
“Are you sure?” Hendrick asked with surprise when Evan had finished.
“I’m positive,” Evan said. “Get back to me as soon as you have some information for me.”
“You’ll be the first person I tell,” Hendrick said, and then hung up.
Evan then called Director Pembrook and explained to her what he was thinking and what he believed. She told him to gather the facts and let her know if he needed any other resources.
He sipped his coffee slowly as the thoughts whirling in his head made him half-crazy. If he was wrong, then he’d be destroying an innocent person’s life. But if he was right, then the rat would be caught before Evan left town later today.
He got up and headed over to Annalise’s desk. In the second drawer he found what he needed—a blank piece of white paper. He carried it and a ballpoint pen back to the table.
Sometimes he needed to write things down in order to straighten out his chaotic thoughts, and at the moment he definitely needed to write down what was in his head and then take a good, hard look at it all.
He’d been at it for about twenty minutes when Annalise came into the room. She had obviously showered and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt that enhanced the green of her eyes.
She greeted him with a bright smile. “Good morning,” she said and then beelined for the coffee.
“Back at you,” he replied.
She got a cup of coffee and then sank into a chair across from him. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be gone this morning or not.”
“I’m tying up some last-minute things, but I’ll get a flight out of here this evening. I hope you don’t mind me hanging out here until then.”
“Of course not,” she replied. For a long moment she held his gaze, and he could see love shining there. There was not only unfinished business concerning the crime, but he knew now there was still more unfinished business with her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, and gestured to the piece of paper before him.
“Last night before you went to sleep, you said something that made me realize I’d overlooked something...something that should have been checked out before now.”
“And what’s that?”
“The fact that both Chief Cummings’s wife and Gretchen were in foster care,” he replied.
She looked at him with a frown. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Maybe nothing, or maybe everything. I’m waiting for Hendrick to confirm something for me.”
Annalise stared at him. “Are you telling me you think Chief Cummings’s wife is our insider?”
He smiled at her grimly. “I think she’s definitely a piece of the puzzle, but I now believe Chief Cummings is the mastermind.”
She gasped in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“I’m looking at the factual evidence and adding my own suppositions,” he replied.
“Tell me.” She leaned forward with interest.
It was like old times...the good old times. She had always been one of his best sounding boards, and he knew today would be no different.
He looked down at what he’d written. “The first thing is Chief Cummings told me that Bert Epstein was one of his best friends. Being friendly with the security guard might have given Walter not only the information as to who would be in the school at a certain time, but also access to the van and garage keys.”
“Okay, what else?” she asked.
“The night that Jacob and Gretchen escaped, Walter had pulled off a lot of his men from guard duty at the back of the school.”
“Keep going,” Annalise said.
Funny, he knew what he’d written down was solid, but it made him feel better that she hadn’t rejected anything he’d said so far.
“Walter was at the jail when Jacob walked out,” he continued. “And Walter knew where you lived, and how else would Jacob know to come here? I wouldn’t be surprised if Walter was the one who drove him here.”
She leaned back in her chair. “My God, Evan. When it’s laid out like that, he looks guilty as hell. And when the ultimate takedown occurred, it was a complete success without Walter’s involvement. So what happens next?”
“I’m waiting for some additional information from Hendrick and then we’re going to get an arrest warrant. I believe I have enough circumstantial evidence to take him down. And once we get his phone records, I believe they’ll prove without a shadow of a doubt that he’s our man. It will be my pleasure to arrest that bastard.”
She reached out and covered his hand with hers. “I always knew you were the best hostage negotiator in the world, but you’re also a brilliant FBI agent, as well.” She squeezed his hand and then released it.
“I don’t know about that. If I was that brilliant, I would have seen all of this before now. Each incident taken separately I managed to overlook, but this morning it all came together.”
“So, did anyone interview Jacob? And did he say anything about Walter being behind all this, or is he even able to be interviewed?”
“Oh, he was able. The gunshot wound was not life-threatening and he was interviewed extensively last night. But he refused to cooperate in any way. He probably thinks Walter is going to somehow get him out of this again.”
“Then he’s really delusional,” she replied. “What about Gretchen? Is she talking?”
“Not a word except to cuss anyone who asks her anything,” he replied. “Although when we arrested them she insisted that she was an abused woman and was terrified of Jacob.”
“Trust me, there’s no way she was abused or terrified. She had no problems beating the crap out of me.”
“I hate that you went through that,” he said, her words generating new anger at the person he believed had helped those people get into the school in the first place.
His phone rang with an incoming video call. “Hey, man. What do you have for me?” he asked Hendrick.
“Gretchen Owens was in foster care from the age of six when her mother gave her up. She bounced around among several foster homes, but when she was fifteen she was fostered by Jackie and Damon Huck and she remained with them until she aged out,” he said.
“And Chief Cummings’s wife?” Evan asked.
“Rose Mayfield entered the foster care system when she was eight. Her parents were killed in a car accident, and there were no other relatives to take her in. She was with the same foster parents until she was fourteen and, due to health issues, they had to give her back to the state. She was then placed with Jackie and Damon Huck until she aged out.”
“Bingo,” Evan said. “Thanks, Hendrick.”
“I’ve got your warrant ready, and I’m faxing it to you right now. You have the full approval and authority of Director Pembrook and the support of the department behind you. Call me on the other side
.”
Evan got the documents he needed and then sat back down at the table.
“So, when is this all going down?” she asked.
“Soon. I’m just waiting for Davis and my other men to come and get me.” He grinned at her. “It’s questionable what role Chief Cummings’s wife played in all this, but I have every confidence that Walter is the insider and this will finally put this case to bed.”
As if on cue, Annalise’s doorbell rang. Evan’s backup had arrived. For the next thirty minutes, the men sat at the table and talked about their game plan, which was really quite simple. Go in, take him down and get out.
“I know he’s at the station right now,” Evan said. “I have no interest in embarrassing him by a takedown in front of his men. Hopefully we can take care of business in his office and then escort him out of there peacefully and without handcuffs.”
“And if he doesn’t go along with that plan?” Davis asked.
“Then all bets are off,” Evan said firmly. He stood up from the table. “Let’s all rock and roll.”
The three agents left the house, then Annalise walked with Evan to the door. “I can feel your excitement,” she said. “Go get your man, Evan, and be safe while you do it.”
He smiled and then grabbed her in his arms and kissed her long and hard. When he released her, he immediately turned and went out of the house.
* * *
ALL OF THEM were jazzed on the drive to the Pearson police station. “I can’t believe this bastard was playing us all along,” Davis said from the passenger seat.
“He obviously made a deal with the devil and now there’s hell to pay,” Daniel said from the backseat.
They all continued to talk about the case until Evan turned into the police station parking lot. Then they fell into a sober silence.
Evan got out of the car with a sense of purpose. He knew he was right about this. Not only did his gut tell him he was right, but the circumstantial evidence all supported it. He was also certain more evidence would come to light that would prove him right.
48 Hour Lockdown (Tactical Crime Division Book 1) Page 18